Upper smoothing machine



N0v.v1s, 1941.

UPPER SMOOTHING MACHINE Filed May 25, 1939 5 sheets-s111661 1 1. 175A/ rml G. F. RYAN 2,262,820l

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G. RYAN 2,262,820

UPPER SMOOTHING MACHINE Filed May 25; 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig:

Nov. 1s, 1941. G, F RYAN 2,262,820

UPPER SMOOTHING MACHINE Filed May 25, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 /A/ VEN TUR/ 9279 Patented Nov. 18,1941

UPPER SMOOTHING MACHINE George Francis Ryan, Peabody,

United Shoe Machinery Corporation,

Mass., assignor to Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 25, 1939, Serial No. 275,622

16 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for treating shoe uppers to improve their shape and appearance. When shoes have been substantially completed, for example when they reach the packing room, the uppers are often somewhat wrinkled and the rim portion of the uppers about the foot opening curled slightly outward showing the top edge of the linings. g

It is an object of this invention to give the uppers a more presentable appearance by smoothing and shaping them and by pressing the top edge portion of the uppers inwardly over the top of the linings so as partly or wholly to conceal the top edge of the linings. To this end the illustrated machine is provided with a shoe supporting form, presser members which are arranged for movement into contact with an upper on the shoe supporting form, and means for causing relative bodily movement of the shoe supporting form and the presser members so that the latter will move over the surface of a shoe upper on the supporting form with a wiping action which will remove wrinkles and press the top edge portion of the upper inwardly over the top edge of the lining. To increase the effectiveness of the upper shaping operation, means are provided for heating the shoe form so that it will shrink the upper lining, thereby reducing the area of the lining relatively to the upper and facilitating the overlapping of the top edge of the lining by the top edge portion of the upper.

It is a further object of this invention to control the pressure applied to the upper by the presser members during the smoothing and shaping operation. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, this control is effected by a pattern which is disposed in cooperative relation with the mounting means for the presser members, the arrangement being such that during the relative bodily movement of the shoe supporting form and the presser members the latter are moved toward and away from the shoe supporting form in accordance with the variations in the heightwise contour of that form.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, some parts being broken away and in Fig. 1, illustrating the position of the pressing mechanism at the beginning of an upper shaping operation;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the pressing mechanism at a later stage in the operation;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale illustrating the action of the presser pads on the top edge of an upper during the upper shaping operation;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view showing a convenient arrangement of three machines about a central position so that they can be operated by one operator;

Fig. 7 is a View looking down on one of the pressed pads showing successive parts of the pad broken away to illustrate the construction of a pad and its carrier;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the form carrier, and

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of one of the elliptical pad springs.

'Ihe illustrated machine is provided with a table I8 (Fig. 1) which carries the operating mechanism and also supports a number of spare shoe forms I2I which will be referred to later. Mounted on the rear end of the table I0 (Fig. 2) is a supporting bracket I2 for a Iform carrier I4 (Fig. 8) The bracket I2 consists of a base plate I6 bolted to the table I0 and an upstanding face plate I8 which is braced by a rearwardly extending rib 20 connected to the base plate I6. The face plate I8 has formed therein a longitudinal recess 22 (Fig. 1) for the reception of the form carrier I4, ways being formed at the sides of the recess by plates 23, 24 which are fastened to opposite sides of the face plate I8 and project over the side walls of the recess thereby forming grooves in which the edges of the form carrier I4 slide.

Mounted on the form carrier I4 (Figs. 2 and 8) are an upper form support 26 having a forwardly extending arm 28 and a lower :form support 30 having a forwardly extending arm 32. Each of the arms 28 and 32 has an undercut groove 34 formed in its upper surface for the reception of the base portion of a shoe form. Complementally shaped shoe forms 46, 48, i. e., a right and left, are mounted on the arms 28, 32, these forms having wedgeshaped bases shaped for a sliding nt in the grooves 34 so that they down movement of the form carrier I4.

may readily be interchanged; or if desired both can be removed and replaced by forms of a different size or style.v p

The form carrier I4 is raised and lowered for a purpose which will hereinafter be described, by a bellcrank lever (Figs. 1 and 2) fulcrumed on the frame I2 and having a forwardly extending operating arm 36 and a rearwardly extending arm 31 which is connected to the form carrier I4 by a link 38, the connection between the lever arm 31 and the link 38` forming a toggle. The link38 is pivoted to a rearwardly extending lug 40 on the form carrier I4, the lug 46 projecting through an elongated opening 42 in the recessed portion 22 of the face plate I8 (Figs. 1 and 2). 'I'he heightwise dimension of the elongated opening 4 2 is suiicient to permit the desired up and Downward movement of the form carrier I4 is limited by a-stop screw 45 mounted on the table I0 beneath the central portion of the form carrier i4 (Fig. 1). e

Attached to the 'forward portion o the table I0 (Fi'g.- 2) in front of the bracket I4 isa supporting frame upon which presser pads 43, 44

are mounted for smoothing 'and shaping operations by contact with a fractional portion oi the height of the upper U of a shoe carried upon the upper shoe form 46 and these operations are eX- tended heightwise by a relative movement between the shoe form and the pads. The supporting frame consists of a pair of inverted U- shaped members 56, 52 (Figs. 1 and 2) which are fastened to the table I 6 by bolts 54' and are braced at their upper ends by interconnecting tie rods 56,58. Mounted on the supporting members 56, 52 between the upper and lower shoe forms `46, 48 (Fig. 2) is a rod 66 upon which is fulcrumed a` plurality of pairs of crossed, padcarrying levers 622, 64. Each of these levers has J' an` elliptical spring 16 (Fig. 9) 'connected Vto its upper end adjacent to the upper shoeforrn 44 (Fig. 3), a series of these springs together with their covering material forming each of the presser pads '43, 44. At their lower ends the, levers 62, 64 have inwardly extending projections 8'8,-96 upon which are mounted sensing rollers 8`9`, 91 which are normally held in engagement with the sides of the lower form 46 by vsprings 62, 94, these springs being connected at one end to the lower portions of the levers 62,

64 (Fig. 1) and at theirother end to eye bolts 96 fastened to the table I6. Due to the crossed arrangement of the levers 62, 64, the rollers 86 or QI on the lower end of each lever will contact that portion of the surface on the lower form 48 which corresponds to the portion of the s urface'on the upper form 46 which is operated upon by the spring 16 on the upper portion of` the corresponding lever (Fig. 3). Thus, the roller 91 on the lever 64 will engage the outer surface ofthe-lower form 43, which may bea right, while the spring 16 on the'upper portion of that lever presses against the outer surface of the upper form 46 which would be av left. In a like manner the roller` 86 on the lower end of the lever 62 and the spring 16 on the upper portionv of this'lever will engage the inner surfacesV of the lower and upper forms, respectively.

' The presserv pads 43, 44 are formed by the enktire group of. elliptical springs 16 on the' levers 62, 64respec'tively, each group of springs being 3 encased in a strip of padding material 82 vand a padcover 84 (Figs. 3 and 7) which may be of leather or other desired material. The edges I in an opening in the lever 62.

elliptical springs 14 and the levers upon which theyare mounted are the same, only one con-` nection will be described and like numerals will be given to all of the corresponding connecting parts. Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the elliptical spring 16 is mounted on a supporting member which consists of a head 68 and a spindle 66, the spindle being slidably mounted The depending ends of the spring 15, the padding material 82 and the pad cover 84 are fastened to the head 68 of the supporting member by bolts 8E which extend through the head 48 and clamp them against the sides of the head. When the presser padfis out of contact with the upper form, as when it is in the position shown in Fig. l', the supporting member is urged inwardly away from. the` lever by a light spring 16 which surrounds the spindle 66 and is interposed between the head 68 and the adjacent face of the lever 62, inward movement ofthe head 68 being limited by a washer 12 which is retained on the projecting end of-the spindle 66 by a Vcotter pin 14. Total collapse of the elliptical springs 16 when the pads 43, 44 are pressed against a shoe lupper on the form 46 is prevented by a mat of felt or like backing material 81 which is inserted in the openings in the springs on each group olevers 62, 64.

The pressure applied bythe pads 43, 44 to the upper of a shoe on the form 46 -is regulated by the position of the levers 62, 64. For example, when the lever 62 is in the position shown in Fig.'3 the spring 14 is fully compressed and the spring 16 is somewhat distorted. Further movement of the lever 62 inwardly toward the form 46 increases the pressure applied to the side of the form while movement away decreases it. Due to the arrangement of the levers 62, 64 and the lower form 46 just described, thepressure applied to the upper of a shoe on the upper form 46 ismaintained substantially constant throughout the operation of the` machine because as the form 46 moves past thev spring Y'It on the upper end of a lever, a corresponding portion of the surface of the lower form 46 moves past the sensing roller S6 Vor QI on thelower end of that lever causing the lever to move outwardly or allowing it to move inwardly under the urging of the spring 92 or 64 thus varying the position of the lever relatively to the upper form in accordance with variations inthe heightwise shape of that form. Y

The pads 43, 44 also conform to the lengthwise contour Vof theupper form 46 due to the fact that each of these pads is supported by a pluralityof the levers 62 or 64 which are individually` positioned by their rollers 66 or QI, the rollers in turncooperating with and being positioned by diierent longitudinal sections of the lower form 48.v

It will be noted from an inspection of Figs.

position, as shown in Fig. 3, the rollers 89, 9| are in engagement with the converging surfaces on the upper portion of the form 48 and the inward pull of the springs 92, 94 will act through the rollers 89, 9| to exert a downward pressure on the form 48. As the form carrier I4 is moved upward by the lever 36 the rollers ride rst outwardly over the bulges formed on the sides of the lower form 48 and then inwardly on the converging surfaces which taper toward the base. As they ride inwardly on the converging surfaces the springs 92, 94 act through the rollers 89, 9| to exert an upward pressure on the form 48 which assists its upward movement.

The upper and lower forms 46, 48 are heated by resistance units H3, I|4 in the form carrying arms 28, 32, the units being connected to a source of power by leads extending through conduits II6, IIS (Fig. 2) to a terminal box |28' mounted on the bracket I2. The heat from the upper form 46 causes the lining of a shoe o-n that form to shrink and thereby assists the pads 43, 44 in shaping the top edge of the shoe around the foot opening. This action can best be understood by referring to Fig. 5 where it will be seen that the shrinking action of the heated form 46 will cause the lining L to contract in an upw-ard direction inasmuch as that is the only direction in which it can move since it is held tightly against the form by the pres-sure of the pads 43, 44. The upward movement of the lining L will act through the stitching S to pull the upper U inwardly. This will assist the pressing action of the pad on the top edge of the upper U. The lower form 48 is heated toapproximately the same temperature as the upper form 46 so that the lower form will be ready for immediate use when the two are interchanged.

Spare forms I2I of different sizes are carried on a supporting bar |22 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is connected at its ends to legs |24, |26 of the table I8. These forms are heated by a resistance unit |28 which is connected to a source of power by leads extending through a conduit |38 to the terminal box |20 (Fig. 2), so that they are always ready for use without delay.

The levers 62, 64 and the pads 43, 44 carried by them are moved backwardly away from the forms 46, 48 rby an elongated cam |88 which is rotatably mounted on the supports 58, 52 and is located between substantially parallel faces |82, |84 (Fig. 3) on the levers 62, 64, the arrangement being such that when the cam |88 is in a horizontal position the levers and pads are held away from the forms. The cam |88 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, to its horizontal position by a link and lever system which consists of a bell crank lever |86 (Fig. 1) fulcrumed at |85 to the support 58 and a link |88 which is connected at |I8 to the lever |86 and at I|I to a crank |I2 fastened to the cam |88. The adjacent ends of the lever |86 and the link |88 are provided with shoulders |81, |89 arranged for engagement with each other upon the depression of the lever |86, the shoulders engaging one another to prevent further rotation of the lever |86 shortly after the center of the pivot I|8 passes the line of centers of the pivots |85, III at which point the elongated portion of the cam |88 will be in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1 where it will hold the levers away from the forms 46, 48.

In shoe shaping operations it is frequently desirable to press the shoe tongues at the same time that the upper shaping operations are carried out so as to remove wrinkles in the tongues which are generally due to the pressure of the lacing thread used to hold the eyelet nies together during the lasting operation. To accomplish this, the forms may be provided with a thin plate |32 (Fig. 2) which can be inserted between the tongue and the shoe fly when a shoe is being placed on the form so that it will be pressed against the tongue by the pads as they are pressing against the sides and eyelet flies.

The eiciency of the shaping operation will be materially increased if the form carrier is allowed to remain for a short time in its upper position shown in Fig. 4 where heat and pressure are applied to the upper and lining of a shoe on the upper form, as this will set the upper material in the desired shape. This result may be obtained by grouping a number of machines such as A, B, and C (Fig. 6) about a central position so that an operator may stand in the center and successively operate upon the various machines, leaving a shoe in the rst machine until after a shoe has been placed in the last machine oaf the group. :If desired, alternate machines may be provided with rights and lefts of the same size so that it will not be necessary to interchange upper and lower forms in the machines.

To operate the machine, assuming that it is in the condition shown in Fig. 1, a right and a left form of a desired size are taken from the rack |22 and are slid onto the form supporting arms 28, 32 on the form carrier I4. A shoe is then placed on the upper form 46 and the lever |86 is moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, thus moving the elongated portion of the cam |88 to a vertical position (Fig. 3) and allowing the springs 92, 94 to move the pads 43, 44 inwardly into engagement with the shoe upper adjacent to the sole line. The arm 36 is then depressed, raising the form carrier I4 and forcing the upper form 46 past the pads 43, 44 so that the pads exert a dragging or wiping action on the upper in a downward direction toward the foot opening. This wiping action removes wrinkles, creases and the like from the upper and as the edge of the foot opening is moved past the pads the top edge of the upper is pulled over the top of the lining thereby hiding the latter (Fig, 5). The heat from the shoe receiving form 46 causes the lining L to shrink and pull the upper U inwardly thereby assisting the down-wiping action of the pads 43, 44 which pulls the top edge of the upper over the top of the lining. After the shoe has remained in this position a short time to allow the upper to set in its new shape, the arm |86 is moved in a clockwise direction to move the elongated portion of the cam |88 back to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1. This movement of the cam |88 forces the levers 62,64 and the pads and rollers away from the forms so that the shoe which has been shaped can be removed from the upper form 46. The forms are then lowered and another shoe placed on the upper form. If desired, the cycle of operation may be varied by placing a shoe on the upper form 46 while it is in its upper position, then lowering the form carrier I4, moving the pads into engagement with the shoe upper and repeating the operations described above.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a shoe upper shaping machine, a shoe support, a pad arranged for engagement with a fractional portion of the height of theupper of a shoe on the support, means for pressing the pad against the upper of a shoe on the support, and means for causing relative bodily movement of the shoe support and the pad when the latter is in engagement With the upper to cause the pad to move over at least a major portioniof the heightwise extent of the surface of the upper with a wiping action'in the direction of the shoe opening.

2. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising a support, a shoe form mounted on the support for movement in a heightwise direction, pads adjacent to said support constructed and arranged for movement into engagement with a shoe upperon the form, and means for moving the shoe form in a heightwise direction when the pads are in engagement with the sides of the shoe upper to cause the pads to exert an upwiping action on v the upper in the direction of the foot opening.

3., A shoe upper shaping machine as dened in claim 2 having resilient means for urging the pads toward the shoe form.

4. A shoe upper shaping machine as defined in claim 2 in which the pads are carried on pivoted arms and having means for moving the pivoted arms away from the shoe form and for holding them out of engagement with the shoe form to permit the interchange of shoes on the form.

5. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising a support, a shoe form mounted on the support for movement in a heightwise direction relatively tothe support, pads adjacent to the shoe form arranged for engagement with the upper of a shoe on the form, means comprising pivoted arms for supporting said pads, resilient means for urging the arms toward the shoe form, and means for moving the pivoted arms away from the' shoe form against the resistance of the resilient means to move the pads out of engagement with theshoe form to permit the interchange of shoes on the form. I

6. In a shoe upper shaping machine, a shoe support, a pad arranged for engagement with the upper of a shoe on the shoe support, a carrier for said pad, means for causing relative heightwise movement between the shoe support and the pad When the pad is in engagement with a shoe upper thereby causing the pad to effect a wiping action on the upper, and means for adjusting the position of the pad carrier relatively to the shoe support during'the relative movement between the pad and the shoe support to compensate for changes in the contour of the shoe support 7. In a shoe upper shaping machine, a shoe i'orm, a pad arranged to wipe the upper of a shoe on the form in the direction of the foot opening, and a pattern for controlling the position of the pad during the wiping action.

8. In a shoe upper shaping machine, a shoe support, a pad mounted for movement into engagement with the upper of a shoe on the sup-lI port, means for causing relative movement of the shoe support and the pad to move the area of engagement between the pad and the shoe upper in the direction of the foot opening, and

a pattern for positioning the pad While in con-` tact with the shoe upper.

9. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising a shoe form, pads mounted for movement into engagement with the upper of a shoe on the shoe form, carriers for the pads mounted for Inove-` ment toward and away from the shoe form,

means for moving the shoe formtransversely of the pads when the latter are in engagement with the upper of a shoe on the form, and a second form disposed in cooperative relation With the pad carriers for controlling the pressure exerted by the pads against the upper of the shoe on the shoe form.

Vll). A shoe upper shaping machine comprising a shoe form, pads mounted for movement into engagement with the upper of a shoe on the shoe form, pivoted carriers for the' pads, means for moving the shoe form in a Vdirection heightwise of the form when the pads are in engagement with the shoe upper on the form, and a second form disposed in cooperative relation to the pad carriers for controlling the pressure exerted by the pads against the shoe upper during the movement of theY first mentioned shoe form past the pads.

11. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising spaced pads, pivoted carriers for the pads, said carriers having sensing members thereon, a shoe form positioned for engagement by the pads, a complementally shaped form positioned for engag'ement by the sensing members, and means for moving said forms relatively to the pads and the sensing members respectively whereby the pads will exert a wiping action on the upperv of a shoe on the shoe form and the complementally shaped form will cooperate with the sensing members to control the pressure exerted by the pads on the upper.

l2. A shoe upper shaping machine as dened ,a support, a form carrier mounted on sensing members in engagement with the complementally shaped form and cam means for moving the pads back out of engagement with the shoe form.

13. In a shoe upper shaping machine, a shoe form, a complementally shaped form adjacent the shoe form, pads arranged for engagement with the upper of .a shoe on the shoe form, a plurality of pivoted carriers for the pads, said carriers having sensing members disposedl for engagement with diiTerent sections of the complementally shaped form whereby the pads are conformed to the lengthwise configuration'of the shoe form, and means for causing relative movement of the forms and the pads whereby the pads will exert a wiping action on the upper of the shoe on the shoe form and the complementally shaped form will cooperate With the sensing members to control the pressure exerted by the pads on the upper.

. 14. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising the support for movement in a heightwise direction, comp-lementally shaped forms mounted on the form carrier at spaced points, pads arranged for engagement with one of the forms, pad supporting members pivoted on the support between the forms, said pad supporting members being connectedto the pads on one side of their pivot and being constructed and arranged for sliding engagement with the form on the other side of their pivot whereby the latter form will control the position of the pad supporting members during the heightwise movement of the form carrier.

l5. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising a support, a form carrier mounted on the support for movement in a heightwise direction, forms mounted on the carrier at spaced points, pads arranged for engagement with one of said forms, pad supporting members pivoted between the forms, said pad supporting members being arranged for engagement with and control by the other form, and means for moving the form carrier in a heightwise direction.

16. A shoe upper shaping machine comprising an adjustably mounted form carrier, forms mounted on the form carrier at spaced points, pads arranged for engagement with one of said forms, and a plurality of pivoted pad supporting members for each pad arranged for engagement with and control by lengthwise spaced sections of the other form whereby the pads are conformed to the configuration of the pad engaged form.

GEORGE FRANCIS RYAN. 

